


the kids will be okay

by vuillard



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, One Shot, Tony’s Funeral, but i do like harley & peter, i can’t stop thinking about harley’s role, i was just throwing things together, mostly - Freeform, this barely has editing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-02-27 20:12:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18746260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vuillard/pseuds/vuillard
Summary: “can you do any better?”“oh you bet, come to my lab sometime, spider-kid. we’ll make something nice.”





	the kids will be okay

    Peter watched as the arc reactor floated off. His only living father figure was six feet under and all he could do was stand and stare. 

 

  _“_ _We won, Mr. Stark. You did it, sir, you did it.” His heartbeat was slowing fast. Too fast and Peter was pulled away._

_His breaths came slower each time. He didn’t even get to say goodbye or thank you or-_

_Peter didn’t have to look to know that Tony stopped breathing. His heart stopped beating and his eyes dulled. For the first time, Peter regretted his enhanced senses._

 

After the funeral, he couldn’t go just yet. May looked like she wanted to speak up, tell him that they needed to get home, but she just pursed her lips and brought a hand to his cheek. Peter sat down on the porch steps, imagining Mr. Stark running around playing hide-and-seek with his daughter. 

 

   _Peter was rambling, adrenaline getting the best of him. The man pulled a face and stepped closer, mumbling a quick, “Hold me, kid, hold me.”_

_“What are you doing?” Before he could even process what he said, arms wrapped around him. Peter’s train of thought crashed and he felt frozen for a moment. He hugged back, releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding. The teen felt Tony hold tighter and he felt his world go right._

_“Oh this is nice.”_

 

  “You’re Spider-Man?” A voice pulled him back to the present. He looked up to see an unfamiliar boy standing above him, something of a blank look settled into his features. The kid seemed to be his age, but there was purple under his eyes and the beginnings of frown lines creasing the sides of his mouth. He looked like Mr. Stark.

 

  Peter managed to gather his bearings quick enough. At this point, he couldn’t be bothered to question why random people know his name. “Uh, yeah- I’m- Peter’s fine.” He winced at how groggy and awkward he sounded. The stranger didn’t react, which was a little creepy but he appreciated it anyway. 

 

  “‘m Harley.” He introduced himself, leaning against the porch railing.

 

  The brunet couldn’t recall the name but nodded nonetheless. Silence consumed the space between them, settling only a little uncomfortably. The taller boy’s nonchalant presence was weirdly comforting, seeing as he was quietly teeming with anxiety. 

 

  Harley was the one to break first. “Was Tony  your mentor? Or was he more like a dad?” The questions moved fluidly, as if they held the same weight as small talk. 

 

  “Well,” Peter shifted to squeeze his own left palm with the other hand while he searched for an answer, “Both, I guess. At least to me.” The other just looked at him, a hint of understanding settled on his face. He turned his face away again to face forward. 

 

  “What about you? How’d you know Mr. Stark?” He looked towards the boy. One personal question for another, he guessed.

 

  It took a while before Harley met his gaze with a grin. It changed his face a ton and he couldn’t help but be reminded of his late father figure. “We met a couple years back. He had something to do and crashed into my garage. Kind of a dick but I was persistent enough that I stuck around to help.” 

 

  Peter couldn’t help but smile; the first real one what felt like forever. “Sounds like him. He hit on my aunt and made fun of my old suit before throwing me into Germany.” Harley’s grin stayed, and so did his. 

 

  “Ah, did you make that suit on your own? I thought you were supposed to be good at tech.” The teen chuckled but Peter felt his face flush from embarrassment. 

 

  “Hey! I live in a shitty Brooklyn apartment, I didn’t have much to work with!” He argued quickly. His face grew redder when the other boy started to laugh a little harder. “It’s not that funny!”

 

  “They looked like Target pajamas, dude, how could anyone take you seriously like that?” Harley managed through his amusement. 

 

   “Can you do any better?” Peter challenged, feeling a little annoyed that he got so heated so quickly.

 

  Something lit up in Harley’s eyes. “Oh you bet, come to my lab sometime, Spider-Kid. We’ll make something nice.” A hand stretched out in front of him. Peter looked from it to the brunet’s face.

 

   He took his hand and let himself be pulled up with a smile.


End file.
